Students across departments have been fighting to increase access to vital spaces on campus, like meeting spots for clubs, financial resources, and other means of support. UPLIFT is a Black, Indigenous Persons of Color (BIPOC) affinity space for theater students at Skidmore. I had the pleasure of sitting down with UPLIFT’s leaders and directors, with whom I discussed its founding, goals, and ideas for the year.
Read moreOp-Ed: What Does it Mean to be Latinx?
As members of the Skidmore community, we need to see and call out white people and whiteness. Doing so forces faculty and staff to be a part of the conversation on racial inequality, rather than allowing them to deflect, take a raincheck, and never address it. Doing the work also entails taking strides to figure out and specifically define your race. Ending racism is a community effort; thus, in addition to professors and staff, students must also reflect and address the questions above. Change cannot occur within our community if we (Skidmore staff, faculty, and students) continue to refuse to racialize white people. Thus, the time for change is now.
Read moreAmplifying BIPOC Voices
Skidmore is an overwhelmingly white college, and most of us have never experienced racism and never will. We are the ones that have taken part and benefitted from the deeply rooted racism in our country. The resources are already out there, and have been for a while. White folks need to take responsibility, listen and learn, and do the research to become anti-racist individuals. It is hard. it is uncomfortable. We must do it anyway.
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